Track And Field Pull Apart Cupcakes Recipes

FOOTBALL PULL-APART CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES WITH MOCHA FROSTING

Steps:

• For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 muffin tins with cupcake liners.
• Whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the oil, vanilla, eggs and 1 cup water until well blended. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just incorporated.
• Divide the batter among the cupcake liners and bake until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 5 minutes, then remove and cool completely on a wire rack.
• For the frosting: Dissolve the coffee in 1 tablespoon hot water in a small bowl; set aside.
• Beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until creamy. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar and beat until incorporated. Beat in the vanilla. Add 1/4 cup of the milk and beat to incorporate. Add more milk, a tablespoon at a time, until the frosting is a creamy piping consistency. Remove a rounded cup of the frosting and put it in a piping bag fitted with a plain 1/2-inch tip.
• Add the cocoa powder and dissolved coffee to the mixing bowl and beat until well mixed. Add a little more milk as necessary to return the frosting to a creamy texture.
• On a very large platter or a cutting board, arrange the cupcakes into the shape of a football. When you have a shape you like, spoon a very small amount of frosting onto the bottom of each cupcake and put them back onto the platter to help them stick to it slightly. Spoon the mocha frosting over the cupcakes, then use an offset spatula to smooth it over the top, allowing the frosting to cover the small gaps between the cupcakes. Use the white frosting to pipe the football's laces and the white markings on either end of the ball. Scatter the green candies around the platter, if using.

PULL APART TOUCHDOWN CUPCAKES

Steps:

• For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 12-cup standard muffin tins with cupcake liners. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Set aside. Combine the butter, granulated sugar, sour cream, vanilla and eggs in a large bowl and whisk until smooth. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling each about three-quarters full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 21 to 23 minutes, rotating the pans once about halfway through baking. Cool the cupcakes in the pans for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• For the frosting: Beat the butter, peanut butter, vanilla and salt using an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar and continue to beat until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes more.
• For the assembly and decorating: Put 1 cup of frosting in a piping bag fitted with a large round tip and set aside. Put the jimmies in a shallow bowl. Frost a cupcake, using about 2 tablespoons of the remaining frosting per cupcake, and then gently dipping the top into the jimmies, turning the cupcake until the top is coated. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes. Arrange the cupcakes in 4 rows on a large serving plate or cutting board. Fit a marshmallow between each cupcake, 5 marshmallows per row, to fill in the gaps between the cupcakes in the rows. Using the frosting in the piping bag, pipe thick cross shapes between where the cupcakes meet one another and over the marshmallows so there are no visible gaps between the cupcakes. Coat with sprinkles.
• To make goal posts for the cupcake "field," microwave the chocolate chips in a small microwave-safe bowl until just melted, 30 to 45 seconds. Keep 2 cookie sticks whole for the bases of the posts. Cut off and discard (or eat!) the bottom third of the remaining cookie sticks. Dip the top of one of the longest cookie sticks into the melted chocolate and adhere it to the middle of one of the cut cookie sticks so that they form a capital T shape. Next, dip the cut ends of two short sticks into chocolate and adhere them to either side of the cross on the T. Lay the goal post on a flat surface and repeat with the remaining 4 cookie sticks to make the second goal. Allow goals to fully harden, 15 to 20 minutes, or place in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
• Using the decorators' icing, pipe 10 lines across the cupcake field to represent yard lines. Pipe out the number 50 in the middle for the 50-yard line. Heat the Tootsie Rolls in the microwave on high in 5-second intervals until they are soft and pliable. Mash them together and form into a football. Use the icing to pipe the lacing on the football; use a toothpick if necessary to help define the lacing. Place the football on the field. Place the gummy candies on the field to represent players and then stick the goal posts into cupcakes at each end of the field.

SANTA PULL APART CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a small saucepan that can hold a heatproof bowl without touching the water. Whisk together the sugar, lemon juice, salt and egg whites in the heatproof bowl. Set the bowl above the boiling water and whisk continuously until the mixture is warm to the touch and the sugar is completely dissolved. Transfer to a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and beat at medium-high speed until cool and the whites hold stiff peaks, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Toss in a couple of chunks of butter at a time, making sure the pieces are incorporated before adding more. After all the butter is added, continue whisking on medium-high speed; the mixture will deflate and appear curdled. Continue whisking until the buttercream comes back together to form a smooth and spreadable consistency. Add the vanilla and whisk to combine.
• Color 3/4 cup of the buttercream with 2 drops of ivory or flesh tone food coloring to create a "skin tone" color. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip. Color 1 1/2 cups of the buttercream with 30 drops of red gel food coloring. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a small French tip. Fill a piping bag fitted with a large star tip with 1 1/2 cups of the white buttercream. Transfer the remaining white buttercream into a pastry bag fitted with a small French tip.
• To assemble Santa's head, arrange the cupcakes on a serving board as follows to make a diamond: one row of 2, one row of 3, one row of 4, two rows of 5, one row of 4, one row of 3 and the last row of 2.
• Pipe about 1/2 cup of the ivory buttercream onto the 3 middle cupcakes in row 5 and the 2 middle cupcakes in row 4 below it to create the face of Santa. Spread evenly using a small offset spatula.
• Pipe about 1 1/4 cups of the red buttercream in small rosettes covering the 8 cupcakes on the top half of Santa's head, leaving 1 cupcake unfrosted on the left side (for the white plush of Santa's hat). Leave 2 tablespoons the red buttercream for Santa's mouth.
• Pipe 5 large rosettes with the white buttercream with the large star tip to cover the row of 5 cupcakes under the red hat to form the brim. Pipe 1 large white rosette on the unfrosted cupcake to create the plush of Santa's hat.
• Pipe small rosettes with the white buttercream with the small French tip to create Santa's beard on the remaining cupcakes, piping closely to avoid any holes. Pipe a row of small white rosettes below the large rosettes to create Santa's hair. Make two curved lines from the middle of Santa's face to his beard to form his mustache and another two small curved lines above Santa's eyes to form his eyebrows.
• Place 2 chocolate buttons side by side for Santa's eyes.
• Pipe a dot with the ivory buttercream between and below the eyes for his nose. To finish, pipe 2 small curved lines between his mustache and beard with the red buttercream to create his mouth.